Guidelines for keto diet treatments for adult epilepsy

Forgive me for being ignorant but I thought a ketogenic diet for epilepsy is an old therapeutic, even for adults, from decades ago. Nevertheless, apparently the first ever guidelines where released. By the way, KDT in the linked article refers to Ketogenic Diet Therapies.

KDTs are high fat, low-carbohydrate, and adequate protein diets that induce fat metabolism and ketone production. Despite its use as an effective antiseizure therapy since the 1920s, KDT remains novel in adult neurology.

Furthermore, while there are established guidelines for KDTs to reduce seizures in children, there were no formal recommendations for adults, until now.

Drawing on the experience of experts at 20 centers using KDTs in more than 2100 adults with epilepsy in 10 countries, Cervenka and an international team developed recommendations on use of KDTs in adults.

The panel notes, “with a relatively mild side effect profile and the potential to reduce seizures in nearly 60% of adults with drug-resistant epilepsy, KDTs should be part of the repertoire of available options.”

KDTs are appropriate to offer to adults with seizure types and epilepsy syndromes for which these treatments are known to be effective in children, they say.

medscape.com


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